Why Study Chemistry?

After you have earned your B.S. in chemistry, what can you do next? Villanova is situated in the center of a large area of chemical industry extending from northern New Jersey to Delaware. Many of our graduates obtain positions with Merck, Glaxo-SmithKline, Pfizer, DuPont, Rohm & Haas, or Wyeth, along with many other companies. Your first job is frequently work as a bench chemist, but might also be in sales, safety, journalism, etc. A number of our graduates continue their education at universities across the U.S. in various areas of chemistry such as medicinal, biochemistry, pharmacology, analytical, inorganic, etc. Graduate students usually receive stipends and tuition waivers that cover the expenses of a graduate education! There are also branches of the government that hire chemists, such as the EPA, DEA, agriculture, commerce, and the military. Each year approximately 10% of our graduating class go to medical school. A summary of where our most recent students have landed is available on the Web.

We address career awareness with our Professional Development Seminar (CHM 1000). In this class we invite chemists and alumni to speak to the students about their jobs and the role of chemistry. In addition, the Career Services office has a comprehensive program to assist our graduates. The Chemistry Department also maintains a file of job opportunities from area companies and students are encouraged to check this on a regular basis. The file also provides many summer job opportunities off-campus for students.

So what do Villanova Chemistry majors do after they graduate? The majority of our students enter graduate studies in chemistry or a related field, seek admission to medical schools, or pursue employment in the chemical or pharmaceutical industry, a few become high school chemistry teachers, and a few enter graduate programs or pursue careers outside of the chemistry area. Here is a sampling of where our students go after they leave Villanova:

Medical Programs

Villanova students have found that a degree in Chemistry impresses many medical school admissions committees. Four of our students have been accepted into MD/Ph.D. programs in the past five years. These programs allow highly talented students to develop skills in medical research; students enrolled in these programs do not have to pay tuition, and often receive a stipend to help with living expenses. Here are the Medical Schools where our students have attended over the past ten years:

MD/Ph.D Programs

Case Western Reserve University

Pennsylvania State University/Milton Hershey Medical School

University of Colorado

Medical Schools

Georgetown University Medical School

Medical College of Pennsylvania/Hahnemann Medical School (now Drexel Med.)

Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine

Temple University Medical School

Vanderbilt Medical School

University of California Medical School

University of Oklahoma Medical School

University of Pennsylvania Medical School

Wayne State Medical School

Other Graduate Programs

Students with degrees in Chemistry have found that they can use their training in a variety of different disciplines. Students with chemistry training are in demand in education, medicine, allied health, law, and other areas. Here are the non-chemistry graduate programs that our students have entered over the past ten years:

Education Programs

Lehigh University

University of Pennsylvania

West Chester University Allied Health Programs

Manhattan School of Dentistry

New York College of Chiropractic Medicine

Temple University Dental School

Other Graduate Programs

Fordham University (MBA program)

John Jay Institute (Forensic Science)

Pennsylvania State University (Law)

Quinnipiac University (Patent Law)

Rider University (MBA program)

St. Louis University (MBA program)

University of Buffalo (Pharmacy)

University of Delaware (Oceanography)

University of Florida (Law)

Employment in the Chemical and Pharmaceutical Industry

Our students are recruited by the top chemical and pharmaceutical companies in the United States. Villanova is fortunate to be surrounded by many of the best pharmaceutical companies in the nation. These companies find our students to be highly intelligent and possess the skills needed for success in the pharmaceutical industry. Here are some of the chemical and pharmaceutical students that have hired our BS graduates:

Pharmaceutical Companies

Abbott Laboratories

Astra-Zeneca Pharmaceuticals

Johnson and Johnson Pharmaceuticals

Merck and Co.

Schering Plough Pharmaceuticals

West Pharmaceuticals

Wyeth-Ayerst Pharmaceuticals

Chemical Companies

Adolor Corporation

Avon Products

Cabot Corporation

Caterpillar

Estee Lauder

Hewlett-Packard

Johnson Matthey Fine Chemicals

Lyondell Chemical Company

Mercury Foam Corporation

Neose Technologies

Stream International

Transave, Incorporated

Graduate Programs in Chemistry

In the past ten years, our students have been accepted at a number of prestigious Chemistry graduate programs. Here is an alphabetical listing of where our students have attended graduate school:

Ph.D. Programs in Chemistry

Duke University

Georgetown University

Harvard University

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Pennsylvania State University

Princeton University

Seton Hall University

Tulane University

University of Akron

University of California, Berkeley

University of California, Irvine

University of California, San Diego

University of California, Santa Barbara

University of Illinois

University of Michigan

University of Pennsylvania

University of Southern California

University of Utah

University of Vermont

University of Virginia

Wayne State University

Yale University (7 Villanova students have attended Yale since 1995!)

About Villanova

Villanova University was founded in 1842 by the Order of St. Augustine. To this day, Villanova’s Augustinian Catholic intellectual tradition is the cornerstone of an academic community in which students learn to think critically, act compassionately and succeed while serving others. There are more than 10,000 undergraduate, graduate and law students in the University’s six colleges.